According to Lt. Tom Wilkison, a spokesman for the St. Charles Police Department, police responded to a burglary in the 2400 block of Westminster just after 1 a.m. on May 21. Officers learned the suspect broke into the home by crawling through a doggy-door and stole a black GMC pick-up truck.

Wilkison said police tracked the truck and located the vehicle more than an hour later at an apartment complex near Highway 94 and Heritage Crossing. Police found a 34-year-old woman in the passenger seat.

The woman told police that her ex-husband, identified as Aaron Stevens, assaulted her at their home in the 2400 block of West Adams earlier that night and forced her to come with him. Police then took the woman into protective custody.

Around 5:50 a.m., an officer located Stevens walking in the area of Hackman and Executive Drive. Stevens ran into an open attached garage of a home in the 2600 block of McClay and gained access to the residence.

Stevens found a family inside the home and took a 36-year-old mother hostage. That woman’s husband, their children, and three juvenile friends fled the home and made contact with police, who had been chasing Stevens.

Wilkison said Stevens took the woman into a bedroom of the residence and barricaded himself inside. He told police he was armed.

The St. Charles County Regional SWAT team responded to the scene and began negotiating with Stevens, who surrendered after more than three hours. Police searched the house and didn’t find a firearm, but discovered Stevens was armed with a pocket knife.

Stevens was charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree kidnapping. He remains jailed on a $200,00 cash-only bond.